On 3/18/2022 at 4:32 PM, Mr Derek said:

Whether or not you blame deaths on the virus, you can certainly assign it to them. That's why epidemiologists attach such importance to the concept of excess mortality.   You know, more deaths than would otherwise have occurred had there been no pandemic.

 

And I don't understand how you claim that you couldn't find  a more contagious and more deadly virus.

 

Obviously, the Delta variant fits the bill perfectly.

Delta Variant Is 60 Percent More Contagious Than Original Virus and Evades Immunity

https://www.publichealth.columbia.edu/public-health-now/news/delta-variant-60-percent-more-contagious-original-virus-and-evades-immunity

 

Increased risk of hospitalisation and death with the delta variant in the USA

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/laninf/article/PIIS1473-3099(21)00685-X/fulltext

Viruses are tricky and when we discuss transmissibility and lethality, it's important to remember that we may not be the main target of the virus.  If the virus finds a more suitable host or vector species, we become little more than collateral damage. 

 

Ebola exists out there in the wild and apparently manages to survive rather well.  We are not the main target, but when we get it, it's quite deadly.  

 

The so-called "mild" Omicron variant right now has a year-high 1,496 COVID cases in serious condition in Thai hospitals with pneumonia type symptoms. And another year-high 562 COVID cases hospitalized who are requiring intubation in order to breathe. And those numbers have been steadily rising day-by-day for weeks now. It's also killing 80+ people per day in Thailand, which is considerably higher than the average of daily road deaths.

 

Not to mention, Omicron also is giving a beating to places in Asia such as South Korea, Hong Kong and Malaysia, among others... See the chart info below:

 

A recent comparison on per capita COVID case and death rates country to country including Thailand and various others in Asia: (yesterday's update from the Thai MoPH)

 

COVID deaths in the past week per million population:

 

Hong Kong -- 242        (1,840 dead in the past week)

South Korea -- 42        (2,162 dead in the past week)

Malaysia -- 17               (564 dead in the past week)

Thailand -- 8                (556 dead in the past week)

Japan -- 8                    (965 dead in the past week)

Vietnam - 5                  (472 dead in the past week)

 

https://www.facebook.com/informationcovid19/photos/a.106455480972785/526877065597289/?type=3

South Korea's total coronavirus infections topped 10 million, or nearly 20% of its population, authorities said on Wednesday, as surging severe cases and deaths increasingly put a strain on crematories and funeral homes nationwide.

 

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/skoreas-total-covid-cases-top-10-million-crematoria-funeral-homes-overwhelmed-2022-03-23/

The Biden administration could authorize a second Covid-19 booster shot for older Americans within weeks, amid rising concern over a potential resurgence of cases, four people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO.

The move under consideration by senior health officials would recommend the additional vaccine dose for adults 65 and older, in an effort to better protect high-risk people and stave off a wave of hospitalizations should infections climb rapidly as a result of the spread of the Omicron subvariant, BA.2. Currently, second boosters are only recommended for those with compromised immune systems.

 

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/03/23/biden-booster-shot-recommendation-00019665